Promise of Forever Love

by Vanessa Miller

  “Well, hello, stranger!” Serenity answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, Serenity!” said Yvonne. “I’m sorry that I’ve been out of reach these past few months. But I’m back now, and I could use your help with something.”

  “What’s up?” Serenity asked.

  “Before I bore you with the details of my crucifixion saga, please tell me how you and Phillip are doing.”

  “Oh, we’re doing great—Phillip is still the most wonderful man I know. I could kick myself for almost letting him get away. Now, what’s this about a crucifixion saga? Who’s trying to crucify you?”

  “Who isn’t?” Yvonne said, shaking her head. “But what I need your help with is fighting off the government.”

  “Good thing you don’t ask for much,” Serenity said with a laugh.

  “Girl, this is going to be a big favor, so I’ll understand if you can’t help. But if you can, I would greatly appreciate it.”

  “Start from the top. Tell me what’s going on and what you want me to do about it.”

  Yvonne took a deep breath and began. She told Serenity that the city government had declared its intention to seize her church and the homes surrounding it, according to eminent domain, and that the plan was to purchase their property and tear down everything they’d spent years building to develop a business district.

  “You’re kidding!” Serenity said when Yvonne had concluded her narrative.

  “I wish I was.”

  “Okay, well, what do you need me to do?” Serenity sounded like she was ready to go to war with Yvonne.

  “I was hoping that you might have time to do a segment on our situation here in Detroit.”

  “I like it. I will fly up there early next week so we can tape the show and have it on the air as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, Serenity, thank you! I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

  “And you don’t have to. See you next week.”

  After they’d ended the conversation and hung up, Yvonne leaned back in her leather chair, propped her feet on the foot rest, and closed her eyes. She needed a moment of nothingness so she could collect her thoughts. Her experiences in the past several weeks had drained her, left her weak. She was thinking about rejuvenation as she drifted off to sleep. But the Spirit of the Lord must have had other things in store for her, for the dream that filled her mind had little to do with rejuvenation. It took her back to a time before she was even a thought in her mama’s mind. As a matter of fact, back then, nobody had been thinking about her mama, her mama’s mama, and so on.

  Yvonne stood on the side of a rough and dusty road as she watched a man carry this big, wooden cross. The crowd around her seemed electrified by the scene. But Yvonne was bothered by what was happening, even though she didn’t know this man. Meanwhile, the crowd grew more and more excited, and she saw several men actually spit on the helpless man carrying the cross. He fell down, and it appeared as if he could go no further. He couldn’t carry that heavy cross all by himself anymore. Several men in uniform—guards, so it seemed—began to beat the poor, defenseless man. Yvonne wanted to run to him, pick up the cross, and carry it for him herself. But before she could move, another man with compassion in his eyes knelt down beside the man, lifted the cross from his shoulders, and began to carry it.

  When he reached his destination, the man received no rest. A crown of thorns was placed on his head, and blood began to trickle from his head down his face. He did not resist when the soldiers roughly thrust him against the cross, and he did not protest as another soldier drove a nail through his left hand. The nail was thick, like a spike, and Yvonne could not imagine the pain he must be feeling. When his right hand was nailed to the cross, Yvonne screamed, but it seemed as though no one had heard her.

  By now, she had figured out just who was being nailed to that cross. And as the cross was raised between two crosses where two other men were being crucified, even though she had never studied Latin, she knew that the sign atop the middle cross read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Her precious Savior was on that cross, right before her very eyes. He had been beaten, spit on, and brutally nailed to a cross, and now He watched as men divided up the very clothes that had been on His back.

  Jesus looked to heaven with tears in His eyes and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

  Yvonne jolted awake and realized she was shaking uncontrollably. She began to calm down, but her heart almost stopped at a sudden realization. She had told Serenity that she was being crucified, but with the raw images of Jesus’ death in her mind, she realized she had no right to compare what was happening to her to a crucifixion. Yes, it was true that she had been wronged, but she was no one’s savior. She didn’t have to come back to heal and help the very people who were trying to do her in, albeit in a figurative sense. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t even been thinking about turning the other cheek. She had wanted to get them—some of the board members, Deacon Brown, the government—the way they had gotten her. But as she recalled her Savior’s response to the men who were wronging Him to the point of death, she knew she had some serious repenting to do.

  She had just witnessed a vision of her Savior being mistreated in the most ungodly fashion imaginable. He could have summoned a legion of angels to fight His battle, and yet He had chosen to have mercy on the offenders. “Father, forgive me. What was I thinking?”she prayed fervently. “Vengeance is Yours, not mine. Help me through all of this madness, and I promise that I will never repay evil with evil.”

  Chapter

  Nine

  True to her word, Serenity came to Detroit with her film crew the following week. The cameramen walked around the church, taking pictures of the sanctuary, the fellowship hall, and the half finished Family Life Center. The crew also got footage of some of the homes in the nearby neighborhoods. Then, Serenity, Yvonne, and Thomas sat down to talk. Of course, their conversation was conducted beneath bright lights and in front of cameras and microphones.

  Serenity was the picture of professionalism in her hunter green linen pantsuit and two-tone Italian leather pumps. Yvonne smiled, knowing full well that although Serenity’s attire made it look as if her husband was still receiving an NFL salary, her friend had probably purchased each item at a secondhand shop. The girl loved her bargain boutiques. Yvonne wished she could put herself together as well as Serenity and still leave some money in the bank.

  “Welcome to Walk This Way!” Serenity began, smiling at the camera. “I have a special treat for my audience today, because I am sitting with two of the most dynamic personalities in Christendom today: Pastor Yvonne Milner, of Christ-Life Sanctuary in Detroit, and the world-renowned speaker and teacher, Thomas Reed.”

  Serenity turned toward Thomas and Yvonne as the camera crew moved in for a closer shot. “Pastor Yvonne, it is so good to have you on the program again. I know you’ve gone through some difficult changes since the last time you were our guest. Would you care to tell our audience a little bit about that?”

  Yvonne really didn’t want to share any intimate details with strangers, but she’d asked for this interview, and she trusted Serenity. So, she stepped out in faith to answer the question. “Yes, there have been some changes since the last time we spoke on your show. The most significant change is that my husband of over thirty years passed away.”

  Serenity’s expression turned deeply compassionate. “That was a sad time for the body of Christ. I know that my husband and I prayed that Pastor David would survive, but we all know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So, he is in a much better place.”

  “Thank you for saying that, Serenity.” Yvonne smiled. “I know that David is home with the Lord, and that brings me comfort.”

  Serenity turned to Thomas. “From what I hear, I need to call you ‘Pastor Reed’ again. Am I right?”

  “That’s right. I’m getting too old to travel all over the world,” Thomas joked. “I needed a pl
ace to settle these old bones.”

  “You are far from old, Pastor Reed, but what you are doing here is quite momentous. Not many people would give up their successful careers to help a friend in need.”

  Yvonne leaned over and gave Thomas’s hand a grateful squeeze. “But Thomas is more than a friend—he’s family,” she put in. “I am so thankful that he decided to come and help me, but it’s only temporary. Thomas will be back on the road fulfilling his ministry assignments just as soon as he is ready to go.”

  Serenity clasped her hands. “Okay, Pastor Yvonne. I’m sure other pastors are wondering why you would need help with your church. After all, you’ve been pastoring for more than twenty years.”

  Yvonne wanted to send a signal to Serenity to tell her she wanted to answer questions only if they dealt with the problem she was having with the City of Detroit trying to take her church away. She didn’t want to tell the world that she was incompetent and couldn’t handle the responsibilities of pastoring a church on her own.

  Thankfully, Thomas chimed in. “It’s simple, really. After David died, the recession hit. Christ-Life Sanctuary lost a lot of members, and the financing dried up because many of the remaining members had lost their jobs in the auto industry. So, I answered God’s call to step in and help Yvonne and Christ-Life Sanctuary through this transitional time.”

  “After you came on board, things seemed to be turning around,” Serenity said. “But now, you’ve just been hit with some news—bad news for the church, and bad news for the community that surrounds the church.” She shifted her gaze to Yvonne. “Pastor Yvonne, can you tell us about this new threat that is attempting to tear down the church you and your husband founded over two decades ago?”

  Yvonne smiled. Finally, she was in the territory she wanted to be in. Although she understood Serenity’s technique in building up to this moment, the implication that she could not handle the church on her own still hurt. But she was in her element now, ready to fight for justice for Christ-Life Sanctuary and for the people in the surrounding community.

  She turned to Serenity and recounted everything they knew about the city’s plans to demolish the church and the nearby homes in order to turn the area into a business district. When Yvonne had finished, Serenity asked Thomas to give the closing prayer.

  Once the cameras were turned off, Serenity said, “I’m sorry if I made you feel a little uncomfortable with some of my questions, Yvonne. But viewers love a human interest story, so we have to give them enough to grab hold of. Okay?”

  Yvonne leaned over and gave Serenity a hug. “It’s more than okay. I appreciate what you just did for me. I just hope it makes a difference.”

  “Hey, none of that hoping stuff,” came a voice from offstage. “You taught me to have faith and believe that certain things will come to pass.”

  Yvonne recognized the voice and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She turned around to see Melinda Marks standing there with her hands on her hips. Yvonne jumped out of her chair to greet Melinda but stopped to look back at Serenity, who was smiling mischievously. “You didn’t tell me that Melinda was coming!” she said in a scolding tone.

  “She wanted to surprise you,” Serenity said.

  Yvonne turned back to Melinda and rushed over to give her a hug, but Melinda’s belly was in the way. “Girl, how many kids are you and Steven going to have? Pretty soon, the two of you will have your own reality show, competing with Michelle Duggar for the ‘Most Kids by One Mother’ award.”

  “That’s not fair, Yvonne,” Melinda defended herself. “This is only my third pregnancy.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve been married for only three and a half years,” Serenity pointed out in a teasing voice.

  “You leave me alone, too, Serenity. I can’t help it if my man is virile. You and Phillip need to start working on your own family, anyway,” Melinda told her.

  Serenity stalked over to her. “Who’s to say that we haven’t already started working on our own family?”

  The room went silent for a moment. Melinda looked Serenity up and down. “Are you trying to tell us something?”

  “Whatever would I have to tell you? All I did was take a home pregnancy test,” Serenity said calmly, then added with elevated excitement, “that came out positive!”

  “What fantastic news!” Yvonne exclaimed as she joined in a group hug with Melinda and Serenity. “This calls for a celebration.” She wanted to tell them that Tia was pregnant, too, but she didn’t know if Tia would want her to share the news, especially since she wasn’t married yet. For a moment, Yvonne realized how awful it was to expect a grandchild and not be able to celebrate.

  Yvonne was in the mood for King Louie crab legs again, so she took Serenity and Melinda to lunch at Bourbon Steak. As they sat and reminisced about memorable moments and discussed how the position of women in ministry had changed over the years, Yvonne found herself beginning to relax. She was among friends, so she could let her hair down and confess her thoughts and fears. “When all of my problems with the church started, I kept thinking that if I lost my church, I would set the cause of women in ministry back a decade,” she admitted.

  “Why would you think that?” Serenity asked.

  “Because I have been so vocal about women in ministry. I speak about it all the time—that women are just as capable as men to lead a ministry. And now, here I am, having to lean on Thomas Reed to help me fix what I’ve messed up.”

  “I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Melinda said. “We all know how hard it was on you to lose David. Anybody would have had a tough time coming back after what you went through and running this mammoth-sized ministry you and Pastor David started together.”

  “I appreciate your saying that, but I know I messed up,” Yvonne said. “I allowed my grief to stop me from doing my job effectively, and the ministry suffered. It’s one of the reasons some men say women should never be in positions of leadership in churches—because we’re too emotional.”

  “But you don’t believe that,” Serenity reminded her. She was now copastor of New Destiny Church, where her husband, Phillip, was the senior pastor. Initially wary of getting involved in church ministry, Serenity had matured in her faith, discerned and accepted God’s will, and grown comfortable in her leadership role.

  Yvonne looked at Serenity, then at Melinda. She knew that these young women looked to her for wisdom. They were her daughters in Christ, and she would not let them down. “No, Serenity, I don’t believe that. I think a healthy dose of emotion helps us to be a little more compassionate concerning the things that trouble the people we serve. I was just making an observation about how my failure would look to some people.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now,” Melinda said, “because you are not going to fail.”

  “That’s right,” Serenity agreed. “You will succeed, and your ministry will thrive again, especially now that you’ve got that fine copastor working with you,” she added with a sly smile.

  Yvonne dropped her jaw and let her mouth hang open for a moment before responding. “Serenity Mc-

  Knight, you are a married woman!”

  “Hey, I might be married, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve lost my sight,” Serenity said with a giggle. “But even if I couldn’t see, I would know that Thomas Reed was something special. The man exudes confidence. He’s got charm and charisma like nothing I’ve ever seen. Phillip was a bit awkward around me at first, and I can’t imagine Thomas being awkward around any woman.”

  “Serenity has a point there,” Melinda admitted. “I thank God that Steven has never been too dashing or debonair. But I wouldn’t have been upset if he’d taken a few lessons in smoothness from Pastor Reed. The man just owns any room he happens to be in.”

  Yvonne rolled her eyes. “You two need to quit! Thomas isn’t Mr. Smoothness, Mr. Charisma, or anything else. He’s simply a good friend who wants to help—that’s it, and that’s all.”

  “If you say
so,” Serenity said. “But I’ll tell you what. Men like Thomas Reed don’t stay single for long. Some woman is going to snatch him up…and I’m thinking that it might as well be you, Yvonne. I mean, the two of you are already running a ministry together.”

  Yvonne shook her head in disbelief. “David and I were married for over thirty years, and I loved him with all my heart. I can’t see loving anyone else like that. So, I’d rather be single the rest of my life than make another man deal with the ghost of my husband.”

  “I know that the loss of a spouse is one of the hardest things to get over,” Melinda said. “My dad took a long time to get over my mother’s death. That’s why he didn’t remarry for so many years. But he’s in his eighties now, and he and Barbara have been married for two years. And he’s completely in love with her.”

  “See, Yvonne? Anything’s possible,” Serenity chimed in.

  Yvonne laughed. “I can guarantee you that I won’t be walking down the aisle anytime soon. Nor anytime later. I married the love of my life, and now that he’s in heaven, I will live out my life with his memory. That will be enough for me.”

  Chapter

  Ten

  Serenity had been right about the media and viewers grabbing hold of the human interest side of the story. Serenity’s segment on Christ-Life had aired last Monday, and ever since then, Thomas and Yvonne had been bombarded with interviews from local and national news stations. It seemed that everyone wanted to know more about the partnership that Thomas and Yvonne had forged, as well as the issue of Christ-Life being sold to the city and then bulldozed. CNN and MSNBC even picked up the story. By Friday, someone from the Detroit mayor’s office had called and invited them to a meeting on Monday.

  That’s why Thomas was driving around town with his digital camera, scouting out locations that the city could use for land development. It was probably their one and only chance to convince the mayor to build his new business district elsewhere. Thomas planned to go to the meeting armed with so much ammunition that the mayor wouldn’t be able to do anything but change his mind—that, or wind up on CNN, looking like the mayor who stole a church.